The thoughts, perceptions and ideas of an engineering career evangelist

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About Celeste Baine

Celeste Baine is a biomedical engineer, Director of the Engineering Education Service Center and the award-winning author of over twenty books and booklets on engineering careers and education. She won the Norm Augustine Award from the National Academy of Engineering (The Norm Augustine award is given to an engineer who has demonstrated the capacity for communicating the excitement and wonder of engineering). She also won the American Society for Engineering Education's Engineering Dean Council's Award for the Promotion of Engineering Education and Careers and is listed on the National Engineers Week website as one of 50 engineers you should meet. The National Academy of Engineering has included Celeste in their Gallery of Women Engineers and she has been named one of the Nifty-Fifty individuals who have made a major impact on the field of engineering by the USA Science and Engineering Festival.

The accompanying graphic looks at master’s degrees awarded from 2007-2016 in computer engineering, computer science (inside engineering), and electrical/computer engineering. Overall, the most master’s degrees were awarded in computer science (inside engineering), followed by electrical/computer engineering, and computer engineering. While there was minimal to moderate change from 2007-2014, there was a sharp increase in the number of master’s degrees in computer science (inside engineering) from 2014-2016.

Finding a successor wasn’t easy. The next director had to be passionate about engineering education, resourceful, ambitious, upstanding, dependable, technologically savvy, and just all around a good person. After much talk with many people, I found Carolyn Helm. She is the perfect fit to carry the torch and make it burn brighter. She has what it takes to expand the activities, books, workshops, kits, fun stuff and everything else that will make the center a fantastic resource for everything related to engineering and STEM education.

Carolyn Helm has worked for the Southern Regional Education Board for the past 18 years. She helped to develop and grow Project Lead The Way from programs in 23 schools to thousands of middle and high schools across the country. Her current focus is assisting career and technical teachers and administrators to develop and sustain problem-based instruction and institute research-based best practices in CTE schools.

She has presented and conducted workshops at numerous national and state conferences including:

High Schools That Work

National Association of State Career and Technical Directors

National Association of School Superintendents

ACTE

Early in her career Carolyn designed facilities, curriculum models, and operational plans for both high school and middle school Model Engineering Academies. In fact, her granddaughter attended one of the middle school academies and decided to become an engineer! Carolyn’s variety of professional experiences such as electrical estimating and manufacturing engineering, along with her graduate degree in Educational Leadership as well as her innate love of “making things work” have made her uniquely qualified to take the helm at the Engineering Education Service Center.

You’ll still hear from me about once a month for most of this upcoming school year and you can still ask me questions about engineering careers.

Mother/Daughter TEA (Technology Engineering Aptitude)

Advanced Train the Trainer Workshop

Training Date Just Added!

March 17, 2017 – Ferris State University, Big Rapids, MI

All Certified TEA trainers are welcome to join in this training to take your knowledge and experience to the next level. The Advanced Train the Trainer Workshop builds on the projects and activities from the first training.

A Parent/Child TEA event will be held on Saturday, March 18, 2017 to reinforce the training.

The advanced Mother/Daughter TEA training is the next step for trainers. If you want to do more activities and build on what you already know, this is the perfect training for you!

Participants will complete four hands-on activities, take home materials kits for two of the four activities, be provided with a presentation and handouts for parents, and receive surveys and literature for grant applications.

Hands-on activities integrating science concepts, technology skills and tools, and mathematical processes provide contextual learning opportunities in a STEM environment. These activities parallel real-world engineering tasks and problem-solving opportunities. By using this powerful workshop toolkit, you will be able to show both mothers and daughters that engineering is not something to be afraid of but a realistic way to solve the problems of everyday life and a very viable career opportunity! The lessons and activities will actively engage girls in learning about engineering and our technological world by applying creativity and innovation as they complete the projects.

Celeste Baine, the workshop leader, is the winner of the Norm Augustine Award for being one of those rare individuals that can show the wonder and excitement of engineering. She is one of the top speakers on engineering education and motivating students. Celeste will make this workshop an enormous success! She is a high-energy, high content, how-to speaker. You will leave the workshop armed with instructions and materials.

This blog today is about never letting others hold you down or convince you to give up the dream.

In 1998, my last year in engineering school, I wrote a book about going to engineering school and choosing a discipline to study (mechanical, electrical, civil, etc.) Because no one would publish it, I formed a publishing company and did it myself. I had no idea what I was doing but simply believed with all my heart and soul that anyone who wanted to go to college for engineering needed my book. About six months after publishing the book, the phone rang and to my great surprise, the caller ID said NASA. I tentatively answered the phone thinking they must have the wrong number, but no – they asked for me. They told me they loved my book and wanted to give it to everyone. From that moment on, all I had to do was figure out how to ramp up and hang on because I had lift-off. The book quickly became the #1 engineering career guide at Amazon and book publishers were now coming to me.

During that time, I received rejection notices from publishers, the Dean of the college refused to write a foreword and other students seemed less than interested. But, I knew there was nothing like it and that it would’ve been the perfect reference when I was making the decision to study engineering. With only a gut feeling, I sent it out into the world.

Eighteen years later, it is in its fifth edition and now covers 45 types of engineering and engineering technology. About 80,000 copies are in print and Chinese and Asian (India) editions were published last year. It is a testament to believing in yourself and your power to see and contribute to a better future. You may never know who, exactly, you are helping but I guarantee you will sleep well at night if you follow your heart and promote (do!) something good.

For the last 18 years, I’ve worked tirelessly to promote engineering education by showing it as a way to change the world, the best education available, and a viable career option for girls and boys. In this pursuit, I’ve authored 22 books, published three videos, and founded the Mother/Daughter TEA (Technology Engineering Aptitude) workshop. I’ve run contests for engineering posters, engineering music, and engineering curriculum. I’ve given keynotes and presentations at over 100 colleges, universities, schools, events and conferences. I’ve won five awards for this work and in return, I’ve traveled to every state and experienced the joy of having a custom-made career that gives back. I’m truly blessed and so thankful for the opportunities provided and for the people I have met along the way.

But now the time has come for a new adventure. I’ve decided to chase the Celeste Watch Company dream to see where it will take me. I will be dismantling the EESC over the rest of the school year. Up until July 2017, I will still be available to facilitate the Mother/Daughter TEA workshop, the Engineering Exploration Day and all of my other teacher trainings. If you want to hold any of these events in the Spring, now is the time to get on my calendar.

However, it is my hope that the Mother/Daughter TEA workshop will find a new home this summer with educators who can fan the fire by traveling to hold TEAs and offering Train-the-Trainer workshops. It is my hope that an educator somewhere who wants to earn side-money will take over the inventory of C’s Blast Packs and offer these turn-key solutions as a way to help schools promote engineering. And it is my hope that the work I’ve done has made a difference in your perspective or career.

If you are interested in running with the torch, don’t hesitate to drop me an email.

The objective of the 100,000 Book Give-Away is to distribute 100,000 copies of Is There an Engineer Inside You?, the leading book on careers in engineering and engineering technology, to students, parents, school counselors, mentors and educators over 5 years.

How Books are Distributed

Partners will each receive 300+ copies to distribute in their communities to students, teachers, educators, or school counselors at any type of engineering event.

A customized copy of the book can be offered as a free download on each partner’s website.

A minimum of 1000 printed books will be donated to K-12 teachers and school counselors by Celeste Baine at conferences and engineering events.

The 100K Book Give-Away is an amazing program designed to help you easily expand your outreach, save money, save time, and provide a proven reference to students, parents, educators, counselors and mentors in your community. By distributing this book, recipients will have a resource that demystifies and promotes the profession while increasing awareness of engineering careers and opportunities.

My very first book, Is There an Engineer Inside You? has been released in an updated fifth edition. It now covers 45 different types of engineering and engineering technology, college options, how to succeed in engineering school, women and minorities in engineering, alternative careers in engineering, salary information and much more.

I wrote the first edition when I was in engineering school. It was the book I wished I’d had when making the decision to go to school. I wrote it because I wanted my fellow students to know what they were getting into and have a clear idea about all the amazing pathways that engineers could follow. It contains information I couldn’t find anywhere.

Some features of this book include helping students choose between engineering and engineering technology; information about college choices, engineering curricula, and articulation agreements; alternatives to traditional engineering such as Engineers Without Borders, Peace Corps, music engineers, entrepreneurial engineers and engineers in politics; and eleven discipline specific sections on engineering technology.

To celebrate the occasion I have several opportunities to entice you:

For every educator who orders this new edition before the publication date (July 22, 2016), you will also receive an Engineering 101 PowerPoint presentation that you can use in class to explain engineering and engineering technology. It’s a broad overview of the book that is colorful, engaging, and designed to save you time. (A download link will be sent when the book ships.)

For the first time, you can also now order small quantities ofIs There an Engineer Inside You? with your logo on the front and backs covers at a discount by joining in the yearly printing that takes place in August.

Please join my celebration! As you probably know from the Next Generation Science Standards, engineering is now a bigger part of the educational landscape. Is There an Engineer Inside You? will help you keep the ball rolling!

This Fall, you can get copies of Is There an Engineer Inside You?, the leading book on engineering and engineering technology career information, with your logo on the front and back covers for up to 70% off the retail price and support a good cause at the same time.

We only offer this discount in August to take advantage of volume pricing.

If you have you been trying to introduce more students to engineering or trying to recruit more students into your program, this is a great opportunity for you to save time and money.

The fourth year of the 100,000 Book Give-Away Program is on the horizon. The goal of the program is to give away 100,000 books to students, teachers, and school counselors over a five year period.

Advantages of being an outreach partner:

Each partner will receive 300+ books with their logo on the front and back covers.

Each partner will receive a customized pdf copy for their website.

Books are only $7.35 each! That’s over 70% off! There is no other cost saving opportunity like this and it’s only offered once a year.

Each partner’s website will be included on the cover page of the website edition and in the acknowledgements of the print edition.

After the initial printing, partners can purchase additional books (no logo) for only $5 each.

Piggyback on a National Media Campaign and gain greater exposure for your program(s).

This year, as part of the Book Give-Away Program, a 5th Edition will be released! Right now, the book covers 41 types of engineering. The 5th edition will cover 45 types and also include expanded sections on women and minorities in engineering.

By partnering with Universities and organizations who want to promote engineering careers and motivate students to pursue engineering, to date, we have given away close to 50,000 copies! Books have been donated to schools, libraries, guidance counselors and teachers; distributed at engineering competitions, events, conferences and workshops; and are available as downloads from some partner websites.

Is There an Engineer Inside You? can reinforce your message by building on the information you share about what engineers, technologists and technicians do, helping explain the differences between engineering and engineering technology, and showing that engineering and engineering technology are degree paths that can lead to fulfilling careers.

For the first time, you can also now order smaller quantities of Is There an Engineer Inside You? with your logo on the front and backs covers at a discount by joining in the printing in August.

Early Bird Bonus – This renewal offer is coming early to help me manage the program. With 300+ requests for free books last year, I was overwhelmed. To give you an incentive to help, if you renew or join by June 5, you will receive an extra 10 books at no additional cost!

We only have two years left and 50,000 books to go! Become a partner today and by working together, we can ensure that every K-12 student has this valuable resource with your branding front and center. It’s a win-win.

Have you been trying to introduce more students to engineering or technology?
Have you have been trying to recruit more students into your program?
Have you wanted to share information about what engineers, technologists or technicians do?
Do you regularly explain the differences between engineering and engineering technology?

If you nodded in agreement to any of these questions, the 100,000 Book Give-Away program can help you save time and reach your goals.

If you think that engineering and technology are degree paths that can lead to fulfilling careers, this program will reinforce your message.

Year four of the 100,000 Book Give-Away program is on the horizon. The goal of this five-year program is to give away at least 100K copies of Is There an Engineer Inside You?, the leading career guide for engineering and engineering technology. By partnering with Universities and organizations who want to promote engineering careers and motivate students to pursue engineering, to date, we have given away close to 50,000 copies. Books have been donated to schools, libraries, guidance counselors and teachers; distributed at engineering competitions, events, conferences and workshops; and are available as downloads from some partner websites.

The 100K Book Give-Away is an amazing program designed to help you easily expand your outreach, save money, save time, and provide a proven reference to students, parents, educators, counselors and mentors in your community. Deadline to become a partner is August 8, 2016.

I’m back in Eugene after several wildly successful days of training teachers and inspiring students in Tulsa, Oklahoma. I trained 23 new teachers to hold Mother/Daughter Engineering Days. The Engineering Day, or TEA (Technology Engineering Aptitude) workshops, are designed to allow 40 middle school girls and their moms to do hands-on building projects together and learn about engineering careers and opportunities. If you follow my work, you know that this is the best workshop I have ever seen for getting girls interested in engineering. In all, Oklahoma now has 76 certified TEA (Technology Engineering Aptitude) trainers!

The day following the TEA training, I held an advanced TEA training so the trainers could experience additional activities and find even more ways to excite girls about pursuing an engineering or STEM career. We completed five additional hands-on activities and shared implementation strategies. The advanced training was developed to help middle and high school educators with no engineering background build upon the activities previously facilitated in a TEA. The advanced training is ideal for those who want to continue working with a select group of mothers and daughters.

We followed-up these two trainings with a Mother/Daughter TEA event on Saturday. Attended by 26 families, the girls and moms moved through the activities while the teachers simultaneously observed, participated and cemented their knowledge on holding TEAs. This was the best scenario for any certified trainer because they are ready to hit the ground running. Not only are they comfortable with the activities and event organization but each school left the training with a toolkit of materials to hold their own events. All of the materials, handouts, prizes and instructions are included.

To make the best use of my time, I also gave the lunchtime keynote to 400 girls who attended a Sonia Kovalevsky Day celebration (she was a famous mathematician) at Tulsa Community College. The girls were engaged and fired-up! Many girls received my book Is There an Engineer Inside You? as a prize and I signed many copies.

Tulsa really rolled-out the red carpet for me! I couldn’t have asked for a better reception!

This area should be unstoppable for getting girls on the fast track to a STEM career.

Exxon Mobile began the Be An Engineer Program last year to inspire and prepare students to become engineers. They have many profiles of engineers (myself included), feats of engineering, careers in engineering, information about being an engineer, news about engineering and much more. It’s worth the time to take a look.

A diverse population of innovators benefits us all. Learn why you should #BeAnEngineer.

Mother/Daughter TEA (Technology Engineering Aptitude)

Advanced Train the Trainer Workshop

Training Date Just Added!

February 19, 2016 – Tulsa, OK

All Certified TEA trainers are welcome to join in this training to take your knowledge and experience to the next level. The Advanced Train the Trainer Workshop builds on the projects and activities from the first training. Only participants who have attended the first training may come to the advanced training.

A Parent/Child TEA event will be held on Saturday, February 20, 2016 to reinforce the training.

The advanced Mother/Daughter TEA training is the next step for trainers. If you want to do more activities and build on what you already know, this is the perfect training for you!

Participants will complete four hands-on activities, take home materials kits for two of the four activities, be provided with a presentation and handouts for parents, and receive surveys and literature for grant applications.

Hands-on activities integrating science concepts, technology skills and tools, and mathematical processes provide contextual learning opportunities in a STEM environment. These activities parallel real-world engineering tasks and problem-solving opportunities. By using this powerful workshop toolkit, you will be able to show both mothers and daughters that engineering is not something to be afraid of but a realistic way to solve the problems of everyday life and a very viable career opportunity! The lessons and activities will actively engage girls in learning about engineering and our technological world by applying creativity and innovation as they complete the projects.

Celeste Baine, the workshop leader, is the winner of the Norm Augustine Award for being one of those rare individuals that can show the wonder and excitement of engineering. She is one of the top speakers on engineering education and motivating students. Celeste will make this workshop an enormous success! She is a high-energy, high content, how-to speaker. You will leave the workshop armed with instructions and materials.

Not many people entered so I’m giving a book away to everyone who posted something!

A big **Thank You!** to those who participated.

Below are the strategies posted by your peers:

We’ve been doing engineering design challenges for many years as part of our NIU STEM Outreach programs. One strategy that we use is to embed the challenge within a narrative that students can relate to. In short, storytelling where they determine the outcome by their ingenuity.

SAME hosts engineering camps through the academies for high school students. Lets them have a chance for hands-on experience & also to network with kids their age from across the country & different backgrounds so they learn why others have an interest in engineering.

Sometimes making it known that scholarships are available helps those who are worried about the cost of an engineering education.

Getting kids, particularly a small group, together working a project that relates closely with another area of interest to them (designing/building a musical instrument, if interested in music, & then discussing how it could be put into wider production, can show how engineering ties into essentially everything we do.

Provide information (such as from the Engineering Education Service Center) to school guidance counselors about engineering careers, particularly in areas underserved for STEM support.

With the parents’ permission, of course, take the student to your workplace (&, if possible, project) to let them see what you do, how you do it, meet & talk with co-workers & then see the project in progress.

Work with the student on a project that directly contributes to her community. Perhaps team with a local school & develop the project idea with their teachers, so some of the in-class experience can support the project too.

I assign fun and relevant engineering challenges for my 7th grade science class every chance I get. Last one was to build an human arm while studying muscular and skeletal systems. We then watched videos and read articles about how engineers develop prosthetics. I believe feeling like an engineer makes engineering careers more approachable for middle schoolers.

I like to teach new vocabulary or present a real world issue to my students then have them come up with ways to fix it. They’re currently trying to build water filters to clean polluted water. A few weeks ago we were learning about buoyancy and density. They designed boats, we sunk them then discussed why some sunk faster than others. They LOVE STEM!

Teaming with another teacher in the school to help the kids develop an engineering solution to an issue in that other subject areas, such as some event in history — find a different way to solve it than what actually happened.

If you want to engage students and parents, recruit for your engineering classes or motivate students, these workshops are the answer!

Below is table that outlines two events that can help you promote engineering and/or STEM careers. Of those polled, 96% of students that attended say they are now considering an engineering (or STEM) career.

Parent/Child Workshops!

Usually Mother and middle school daughter. Can also be a Parent/Daughter Day so that either parent can attend.

*Ages can range from 5th-10th grade.

Number of attendees

Up to 40 teams of parents and children.

Up to 40 teams of mothers and daughters.

Time of event

Most often, this event is held on a Saturday morning from 9:00am-1:00pm or 10:00am-2:00pm. Mini sessions can also run from 5:00-8:00pm on any night of the week.

Most often, this event is held on a Saturday morning from 9:00am-1:00pm or 10:00am-2:00pm. Mini sessions can also run from 5:00-8:00pm on any night of the week.

Celeste Baine's Responsibilities

She will bring all materials needed to engage no more than 40 parent/child teams in hands-on engineering activities for the entire workshop. Activities are customizable but usually include solving problems, building tabletop hovercrafts, designing catapults, helmets or cranes.

She will also bring prizes, and a copy of Is There an Engineer Inside You? for each student.

She will bring all materials needed to engage no more than 40 mother/daughter teams in hands-on engineering activities for the entire workshop. Activities are customizable but usually include solving problems, building tabletop hovercrafts, designing prosthetic hands, helmets or cranes and placing a band-aid on a Whale.

She will also bring prizes, a take-home engineering kit and a copy of Is There an Engineer Inside You? for each student.

In addition, if you want to have many of these workshops at your location (a very good idea), attend one of our Train the Trainer workshops to get on the fast track to offering this extraordinary opportunity. An advanced training is also in the works for 2016.

Win a free copy of The Big Book of Engineering Challenges by sharing a strategy on my Facebook contest thread that you use to get students interested in learning more about engineering or STEM careers. We are giving away five books. The winners will be chosen at random. You can enter once per day. Winners will be announced on Monday, November 16, 2015.

Note: For every 100 comments, I will give away an additional five books! Increase your chance of winning by inviting your friends and colleagues to participate!

Once you decide to pursue an engineering or engineering technology education, preparation should begin as soon as possible. On the most basic level, college is designed to open doors. It teaches you how to think, solve ambiguous problems and use the tools of engineering such as design and simulation software – this gets you ready for employment.

There are several approaches to pursue an engineering or engineering technology career. You can attend a community or junior college, vocational school, technical college, state university or other public or private university. Programs range from one year or less for a certificate, two-three years for an associate’s degree and four-five years for a bachelor’s degree. Each path has its advantages and disadvantages. College classes are taught with the expectation that you are willing to do some research on your own and that you are motivated to do so.

Choosing the engineering or engineering technology school that is right for you is as important as wheels are to automobiles. Hundreds of schools offer engineering programs; some schools have engineering dorms, some offer engineering fraternities or sororities, some are inner-city and some are spread out over large distances. The advantages and disadvantages of each school will depend on your personal needs and wants. Important considerations for most college-bound students include location, cost, faculty, school size, and academics. To find a program in the United States, visit ABET (Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology).

K-12 standards are starting to include engineering, the missing “E” in STEM. Educators are going to have to adapt. Our hack will help get people started on the way to STEM integration that includes all four fields.